John Lippman, Formerly Of Kiro-TV, Fired In L.A.

LOS ANGELES

Former KIRO-TV news director John Lippman was fired from his KCBS news director post in Los Angeles after a one-year tenure marked by staff uprising and accusations that the newsroom's credibility was being destroyed.

"John is no longer our news director and is no longer employed by CBS," KCBS station Vice President Steven Gigliotti said yesterday.

Lippman joined the Los Angeles station from CBS Seattle affiliate KIRO-TV, where he was news director from 1979 until mid-January, 1992.

For months KCBS employees had complained that their news broadcast had become sensationalized and deceptive.

This week, in a scathing, unsigned letter written by KCBS staffers, Lippman was told "you are genuinely disliked by almost everyone who works in the newsroom."

The two-page letter also told Lippman, "You have destroyed our credibility as news people." The CBS owned-and-operated station ranks third locally.

Reports of unhappiness at KCBS began to surface shortly after Lippman's arrival. A shouting and shoving match between Lippman and news anchor Michael Tuck several months ago was reported in local

newspapers.